2 police officers shot on south side; suspect in custody

Two Milwaukee police officers were shot Tuesday afternoon on the near south side by a bicyclist whom they had stopped, police said. A suspect was arrested a short time later.

Both officers were shot more than once and were taken to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa. One was in critical condition and one was in satisfactory condition, Police Chief Edward Flynn said.

The two 2nd District officers - who were in uniform and driving a marked police van - were shot by the bicyclist before they could draw their weapons around 3:10 p.m. in the 800 block of S. 2nd St., police said.

Flynn identified the officers as Bryan Norberg, 21, on the force six months, who was in satisfactory condition, and Graham Kunisch, 26, with 15 months on the force, who was in critical condition. Both were expected to survive.

A suspect whom Flynn identified as Julius C. Burton, 18, was arrested in a home in the 900 block of S. 3rd St. less than an hour later, and police recovered a gun. Police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said he had broken into the house.

"This is a moment that tests our discipline as well as our resolve," Flynn said at the scene.

"This neighborhood came through today. At every key moment of this investigation, someone from the community stepped forward.

"A taxicab driver came to the assistance of the officers as they were bleeding in the street. A UPS driver tried to follow the footsteps of the suspect as he fled (from) the scene. Finally, an individual homeowner identified for us where he thought the suspect might be hiding. And on top of that, our officers, despite all the stress and emotion . . . extracted that suspect without incident and without injury."

Asked what prompted the officers to stop the bicyclist, Flynn would say only that "it started from a 'suspicion stop' that was actively resisted."

Traffic in the area was diverted, and Bradley Tech High School, with about 1,200 students, was locked down for the students' safety, said Philip Harris, a Milwaukee Public Schools spokesman. They were released around 5 p.m.

Tom Aldana, 25, who works at Super Star Tattoo, 712 S. 2nd St., said he was in the shop working, heard gunshots coming from south of the business and saw commotion outside. He started seeing squad cars arriving on the scene and went to check it out.

When he got just south of National Ave., he said, "I saw people on the ground," then realized they were police officers.

Aldana said that he was a state-certified emergency medical technician, and that he identified himself to police.

"I asked for gloves and helped to suppress a wound on one of the officers," he said.

According to Aldana, the officer was bleeding from the jaw, but he couldn't tell for sure where the officer had been shot.

"He appeared to be bleeding the most" of the two officers, Aldana said.

He said the second officer appeared to be in a prone position and appeared to have an eye injury.

Schwartz said she couldn't confirm Aldana's role.

She did confirm that a cab driver helped tend to the victims, however.

The driver was northbound on S. 2nd St. and saw the shooting, according to Red Christensen, general manager of American United Taxi Cab. Christensen said the driver pulled across a lane of traffic, jumped out of the cab and provided aid to the officers.

Meanwhile, Mike Collins, sales manager for Federal Manufacturing, 201 W. Walker St., said the plant manager and a UPS delivery man saw the suspect run through the parking lot of the business.

The delivery man then followed the suspect.

The driver and the plant manager then pointed police toward the residence where the suspect was arrested, Collins said.

"He went out of his way to follow this guy to see where he went," Collins said of the delivery man.

Flynn and other officials briefed reporters about 4:40 p.m. and 9 p.m.

"I think the citizens of this community should recognize how the men and women of this Police Department put their lives on the line every single day," Mayor Tom Barrett said. "These were two men who were doing their job for the citizens of Milwaukee."

District Attorney John Chisholm said the case was being treated as two counts of attempted homicide.

Within minutes of the shooting, the intersection of S. 2nd and National Ave. was snarled with traffic including squad cars, unmarked squad cars, a Fire Department ladder truck, a police patrol wagon and horse-mounted police. At least one police dog was also at the scene.

Lance Macdonald, 61, said he was in his kitchen just around the corner from the shooting scene when he heard five shots - two shots followed by three.

Macdonald went outside and saw an officer on the ground.

"I saw the bicycle down on the ground, and a little bit south of that, I saw an officer," said Macdonald, who couldn't see the second officer from his vantage point. "The medics were working on this poor cop like mad. There was definitely deep trouble there."

Firefighters and paramedics "were here in a moment, and they were working hard, busting their asses," Macdonald said.

Cristina Zimmer and her husband heard the shots at their home about a block and a half from the scene.

"We just heard five shots. Two shots and then three shots in rapid succession" Zimmer said.

The Walker's Point Association, a neighborhood group, released a statement calling the shootings "an act of brutal and unacceptable violence" that "does not reflect the culture of the Walker's Point neighborhood."

The group said, "There have been drastic steps taken in the area over the past years to improve the safety, security and quality of life for all people in the Walker's Point district."

It said, "To all the officers and their families, we hold you in our thoughts and prayers."

Flynn and others echoed the praise for the neighborhood, calling it safe.

"Do not stigmatize this neighborhood," Flynn said. "This is a low-crime neighborhood. Bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen in good neighborhoods. This is a safe neighborhood with cooperative citizens, hard-working businesses and proud Milwaukeeans."

Tom Held of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

About Meg Jones

Meg Jones is a general assignment reporter who specializes in military and veterans issues. Meg was part of a team that was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2003, and is the author of “World War II Milwaukee.”